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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Patriot’s Day, 19 April 1775 and 1975

“On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year”

-From The
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The year 1975 is one I always remember because it was the
year I decided to trace my family tree.
I was only thirteen years old, and I lived in Massachusetts. It was the prelude to the nation’s
Bicentennial celebration, and in 1975 Lexington and Concord celebrated the 200th
anniversary on April 19th. There were re-enactments
going on all around me that year, including the Knox Trail, Bunker Hill, etc. It was an exciting time to be a kid in Massachusetts, and it really piqued my interest in American History and our family genealogy. Two years later I found out that my Munroe ancestors participated in the Battle of Lexington, and several Munroes were killed that day.

We took our daughter to see the 225th Anniversary
of the Battle of Lexington re-enactment, which involved getting to the
Lexington Green at o’dark hundred to get a good spot right by the ropes which
marked off the battlefield. We watched our ancestors fall to their deaths, which was an odd experience. You can read
about that experience at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/battle-of-lexington-re-enacted.html

Here are some old images from our family slides that I
digitized. The quality is poor, but it
brings back memories of the Bicentennial year…

Holden, Massachusetts Bicentennial Parade

This young man was in my high school class.

He walked with his oxen during the winter 1976 re-enactment of the

Knox Trail when they passed through central Massachusetts.

I remember visiting one of the encampments near my hometown.

We visited Disney World in Florida for the first time

in 1976. The Main Street parade had an

American History theme that year for the Bicentennial.

In 1975, my family visited the

Mayflower II in Plymouth, MA. It took me over 25 years to find

out that my mother had eleven Mayflower passengers

in her family tree. She couldn't believe it!

In 1775 my Girl Scout Troop visited Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. We saw many things, and this is one

of the few photos I took. Back then

the bell was in Independence Hall and we could touch it.

A year later it was moved across the street to a well guarded pavilion.

Twenty years after this trip I found out Ben Franklin was my

1st cousin 8 generations removed.

As you can see, I started my genealogy research very early, but I found some fascinating connections between my family and American history!

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About Me

Author of the Nutfield Genealogy blog and occasional genealogy speaker. My family research includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, with a smattering of Nova Scotia. Please contact me if you see your ancestors on this blog. I would love to share information. I am the former secretary of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, former President of the Londonderry Historical Society, member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Mass. Society of Genealogists, The National Genealogical Society, and the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.